'AKU SOKU ZAN'

This artwork is dedicated to the memory of Queensbridge’s rapper KILLA SHA aka Lumi The Great. He’s the only person with my friend Shaka who convinced me to return to drawing after my seven years off. Sha used to give me a lot of feedbacks on my drawings when he was still alive. I remember when I did that artwork with that samurai vibe for Killarmy ([link]), Lumi sent me that e-mail: “Yo yo yo that’s hot! Damn fam, I love how you make these people in the paint bro and that samurai thang! You the best at what you do homie, I love it bro, you made me feel better!”. This is how I learnt that he was sick. I’m happy that my artworks could at least make him feel a little bit better.

Sha, here’s more of that “samurai thang” you liked with my new artwork. I hope you’ll appreciate it as much as my other ones. For more than ten years, you’ve been one of my favourite MC.

Rest in peace Sha Lumi The Great. Thanks for everything.


“AKU SOKU ZAN”
Shinsengumi Fanart
2010.01.29.
Tuân’s…
Mood: Killa Sha RIP
Listening to: Beanie Sigel – “The Truth”
Reading: Touru Fujisawa – “Shonan Junai Gumi”
Watching: Serial Experiments Lain
Playing: Blue Dragon (Xbox 360)


If you take the time to read my artworks comments (and thank you for that), you already know I’m a big fan of the Shinsengumi. But who are those historical figures? The Shinsengumi were a special police force made of expert swordsmen from Mibu (Japan) whose name could be translated as “the newly chosen ones squad”. They’re also known as the “Mibu Ro”, which means “Wolves of Mibu” or “Mibu’s Ronins”. Their style was recognizable among a thousand with white bandanas, blue kimonos, flags with the ideogram “sincerity” and ponytails. They had the mission to protect Kyoto during the late shogunate (1860-1868) against the attacks and the attempted assassinations of the Ishin Shishi, the Patriots who wanted to start the Meiji revolution. The Edo era (1600-1868) ended after the victory of the Patriots and the katanas were forbidden after that; this caused the final disappearance of the Shinsengumi. Speaking briefly, the Shinsengumi were the last real samurais but also the strongest men in Asia for me. They fascinate me for over ten years not only for their strength, but also for their sense of honour and their warrior values.

I discovered them in reading the manga “Rurouni Kenshin”. The mangaka Nobuhiro Watsuki is a big fan of the whole squad, and it gave me the envy to find more information about its captains. I’ve been looking for Ryotaro Shiba’s novels for years; he did some great works on the Shinsengumi with “Moeyo Ken” (“Burn, O Sword”) and “Shinsengumi Keppuroku” (“Record of Shinsengumi Bloodshed”). Unfortunately, I’ve just found a few English translations; it seems the books that interest me are only available in Japanese. The only thing I can do now is to read mangas and watch movies narrating the exploits of these samurais. “Rurouni Kenshin Tsuioku-Hen” is pretty good; “Peacemaker Kurogane” has a bad character design… The movie “Taboo” was interesting, but a bit too gay friendly for me:

“Saitou-san, shall we drink a green tea or shall we fuck? Frankly, I’m not very thirsty…”

I’m joking!...


It was strange and funny to visit the Mibu Temple in Kyoto. I could see the graves of some unit’s captains, but none of my favourite. People there were really surprised when I was saying I was a fan on the Shinsengumi. It reminds me of that meeting with that guy Makoto in that bar in Kyoto, the Ishimaru Shohten. When he told me his name, I just said “oh Makoto, just like the Shinsengumi’s symbol” and all his friends were like “naaaaaani you know the Shinsengumi?!?! Suuuugooooooi!!! Who’s your favourite captain???”. The ideogram for “Makoto” (誠) means “sincerity” and was on the flags of the clan. After that, we were the Ishimaru Shohten Gumi and we were drunk as fuck. Could we protect Kyoto as well? No way. We just puked. It’s crazy how the Shinsengumi are considered as heroes.


When I was 17 years old, I was so into the Shinsengumi I decided to draw a whole manga about them with my dude Stache. It was called “Wolves of Mibu” and the story featured the ancestors of the Shinsengumi during the arrival of Portuguese in Japan. I had to draw the Asian part with my manga style, and Stache had to draw the European part with his western style. Then the two cultures were supposed to meet and fight.

You can check the first pages (in French only) I did almost a decade ago:
[link]

I must admit the scenario and the characters were kinda good for 17 years old kids. Each Wolf of Mibu represented an element (according to the five Chinese elements) and could use them: water, fire, wood, metal, earth. I got the idea while I was doing one of my numerous physical therapies (I spent almost half of my life doing them. If I was Bill Gates’ son, I wouldn’t be rich but Windows Vista: I always need to be fixed). Maybe I’ll restart that story one day, I don’t know.


Thinking of it, the last time I did a Shinsengumi art was in… 2001! So I’m back at it. My artwork “Aku Soku Zan” features two of my favourite unit’s captains. From left to right: Sanosuke Harada, Hajime Saitou and Souji Okita. And FYI, “Aku Soku Zan” was the motto of the Shinsengumi and means “swift the Devil immediately”. Or in fact: “don’t fuck with us”.

-Sanosuke Harada (? 1840 – July 6, 1868):
He was the 10th unit captain of the Shinsengumi and trained in the spear technique of the ”Hozoin Ryu” style. He usually used that weapon in battle instead of a sword. To be honest, he’s not one of my favourite members, it’s just that I do appreciate his wild style and the fact he doesn’t necessarily use a katana to fight. Those are the main reasons why I drew him. Harada used a different spear, but I wanted to draw him with a naginata. Originally, the naginata was used by monks to protect the Shinto’s temples and appeared during the Tengo era (938-947). This weapon could be two meters long and was very handy for cutting the hocks of horses enemies. It’s only during the Edo era (1600-1868) that the handle was shortened. Then the naginata could be used for close combat.

-Hajime Saitou (February 18, 1844 – September 28, 1915):
Third unit captain and one of my favourite, Hajime Saitou was known to be the strongest Shinsengumi’s member. Well, a lot of people say the strongest were Souji Okita (1st unit captain), Nagakura Shinpachi (2nd unit captain) and of course Saitou. I drew him doing his special technique “Hidari Katate Hira Tsuki” which is popularly known as “Gatotsu” in “Rurouni Kenshin”. This attack is based on Toshizou Hijikata’s “Hirazuki”, a deadly horizontal movement of the sword. Note that Hijikata was Shinsengumi’s vice commander and also the strategist and the tactician of the clan; most of Shinsengumi’s sword techniques were developed by him (he was known as “The Demon of the Shinsengumi”). Living by the motto “Aku Soku Zan”, Saitou was a man who never hesitated to kill. His controversial reputation comes from accounts that he executed several corrupt members of the Shinsengumi. However, rumours vary as to his role in the death of Takeda Kanryusai (5th unit captain). The end of his life was a little pathetic since he became police officer and museum guard by the name of Gorou Fujita. Saitou is also featured on SNK’s video game “The Last Blade” as Keiichiro Washizuka. I’ve always imagined Saitou as a good person (especially with his wife Tokio) but also as a cold blooded killer on the battlefield. Basically, that’s what I wanted to recreate in my drawing with his “Hidari Katate Hira Tsuki”. If you’re in front of him during this attack, you’re dead.

-Souji Okita (? 1844 – July 19, 1868):
A prodigy who despites his young age mastered all the techniques and attained the “Menkyo Kaiden” scroll (license of total transmission) at the age of eighteen or so. He was the 1st unit captain and considered as one of the strongest Shinsengumi member (he’s also the most popular). His technique is “Tennen Rishin Ryu”, but his real signature technique was “Mumyo Ken” (“Unenlightened Blade”) or “Sandanzuki” (“Three Piece Thrust”), an attack that could hit the opponent’s neck and left and right shoulder in just one strike. Just like Hajime Saitou, he was inspired by Toshizou Hijikata’s “Hirazuki” to develop his own sword style. Known for his eternal positivism, Okita was always smiling and trying to hide his illness. He suffered from tuberculosis, the romantic disease at the time, and couldn’t fight long. Even at the end of his short life, he could not help making jokes from his hospital bed. For ten years, Okita’s been one of my greatest influences. Back in the days, I related a lot to him because of my eternal health concerns. Okita never had any real sword opponent; I think his real enemy was the causality. Finally, in his hospital bed, did he win his final fight? When I was 17 years old, I thought he lost because he died of illness instead of dying with a sword in his hand. But as I’m writing this comment, I realize that if people remember him as someone who remained positive despite an inevitable fate, Okita definitely won. And that makes him the strongest unit captain for me. Like Saitou, Okita’s featured on “The Last Blade” as Kojiroh Sanada (my favourite character of the videogame). Otherwise, I drew him differently from Harada and Saitou to keep his childish and innocent expression.


I hope one day I’ll have enough time to draw a real jidaigeki manga. The story we started with Stache had a lot of good points, and it’s not impossible that I revisit it. But for now, this is just a new art called “Aku Soku Zan” for all of you and (of course) for my own pleasure.


_Tuân aka “Souji Okituân”



Aouch, with all the bullshit I wrote I forgot to thank the following persons: Killa Sha (for everything good that happened to me with the drawing and all the connections), my daughter Anais (for allowing me to be a good parasite), Aubred (for no real good reason in fact…), Edi (for the… bent stuffs), and everyone who contacted me to give me a compass (finally I didn’t need it). Peace!